1 . Ordos Cultural Products Shine at Shenzhen Fair

A group of 10 exhibitors representing the city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, polish their products at the 19th China International Cultural Industries Fair in Guangdong province.

Place

The fair is being held in Shenzhen.

Time

It runs to October 21.

Theme and Content

The Ordos exhibition area — themed “Meeting on the grassland, falling in love with the Warm City” — divides its 240 square meters into an immersive experience area, a cultural and tourism product exhibit and even an interactive activity area.

Nearly 300 featured handicrafts, cashmere products, personalized ceramics (陶器) and other cultural and creative products from Ordos amaze visitors. Meanwhile, the dance and traditional horse-head fiddle performances brought by the Ordos’ Ulan Muqir art troupe have been popular at the Inner Mongolia exhibition hall.

While showcasing the development achievements of the Ordos culture industry, the exhibition area also allows visitors to experience the charm of the city’s culture.

1. Where is the 19th China International Cultural Industries Fair being held?

A．Shenzhen.	B．Guangxi province.
C．Ordos, Inner Mongolia.	D．Inner Mongolia exhibition hall.

2. How long does the fair run until?

A．May 10.

B．June 11.

C．October 21.

D．November 19.

3. What can you do in the Ordos exhibition area at the fair?

A．Meet on the grassland.

B．Explore the Warm City.

C．Exchange cultural and tourism products.

D．Experience the charm of the Ordos’s culture.

2 . One of the world’s greatest conveniences was born in its greatest hardships. Sylvan Goldman, a grocer from Oklahoma City, invented the shopping cart.

Sylvan Goldman was born to an immigrant pioneer family on Nov. 15, 1898, in what was then the Chickasaw Nation. His birthplace is now part of Ardmore, Oklahoma, about 100 miles south of Oklahoma City. His father, Michael Goldman, was born in Latvia. His mother, Hortense Goldman, came from Alsace-Lorraine.

Goldman learned the retail store business from working in the family dry goods store in Ardmore, Oklahoma, where he spent most of his life. He introduced his unique invention at his chain of Humpty Dumpty grocery stores across the state in 1937. He came up with design by placing a basket on the seat of a folding chair, and attaching wheels to the legs. The baskets had to be removed when the cart was folded, so they took up very little space. A year later, Goldman added a baby seat to his design.

“I thought it would be an immediate success,” Goldman said. “I went down to the store the next morning about 10 o’clock, expecting to see people standing in line outside the store trying to get in.” But he was met by utter disappointment. “When I got there, there was a large room for me to get in. There were people shopping but not a one was using the carts.”

Undaunted, Goldman turned to a classic marketing strategy. He employed women of various ages to walk around near the entrance of each store, pretending to be shopping with their carts. When shoppers had seen the ones that were walking around using the carts, they started using them. And immediately the carts became a huge success.

The invention, the grocery shopping cart, made Goldman a millionaire. It became one of the most-used items on four wheels, second only to the car. Goldman gave part of his fortune, $1.5 million, to the Oklahoma Blood Institute, whose Sylvan N. Goldman Center does lifesaving work. Goldman and his wife funded buildings for the center and provided support for education there.

1. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us about Goldman?

A．His career plan.	B．His special experiences.
C．His family background.	D．His working surroundings.

2. What do we know about the early shopping cart?

A．It was designed for disabled shoppers.

B．It was convenient for people carrying babies.

C．It could change speed by adjusting the wheels.

D．It could be folded without removing the baskets.

3. How did Goldman attract people to use the shopping cart?

A．By advertising the cart in newspapers.

B．By introducing the cart in the stores personally.

C．By inviting shop assistants to promote the cart.

D．By hiring some women to use the cart as shoppers.

4. What words can best describe Goldman?

A．Talented but modest.	B．Creative and generous.
C．Ambitious and humorous.	D．Wealthy but self-centered.

3 . “Some inconspicuous (不起眼的) artifacts, once unearthed and cleaned, can transport me back across time as I touch them. It’s as though I were in the same space with ancient people who lived millions of years ago.” This is what Xu Danyang, a young member of the Communist Party of China responsible for excavation of the No. 4 sacrificial pit (祭祀坑) at the Sanxingdui ruins site in Deyang, Sichuan province, says of his view of his job.

Archaeology used to be a field few university students wanted to study, Xu says. However, discoveries at Sanxingdui have changed students’ preconceptions. The increasing popularity of Sanxingdui is a good thing, Xu says. The reason why the site has attracted international attention is that bronze ware and gold decorations unearthed there have given people fresh glimpses of the ancient Shu Kingdom, illustrating the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization.

Speaking of the pit team, Xu says more than half the members were born in the 1990s. The daily work of Xu and his team can be split into two parts: the indoor work of reorganizing materials and conducting research, and the outdoor archaeological fieldwork, both of which require great meticulousness (谨小慎微). The process of dig needs careful teamwork, and everyone performs their duties extremely. One does not expect quick success or instant rewards. So patience is a must. The infinite nature of human history can be reflected as one connects seemingly insignificant discoveries.

1. What does the underlined words “excavation” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．Discovery.

B．Dig.

C．Invention.

D．Breakthrough.

2. What effect have the discoveries at Sanxingdui had on students’ view of archaeology?

A．Decreased interest in studying archaeology.

B．No change in people’s view.

C．Decreased attention on Sanxingdui.

D．Increased interest in studying archaeology.

3. What has attracted international attention to the Sanxingdui ruins site?

A．Unearthed bronze ware and gold decorations.

B．Careful teamwork.

C．Xu Danyang’s view of his job.

D．The inclusive nature of Chinese civilization.

4. What quality is crucial for success in the field of archaeology?

A．Quick success and instant rewards.

B．Careful teamwork and patience.

C．Decreased attention.

D．Reorganizing materials.

4 . A Palestinian soccer team has been formed with players who have lost legs as a result of fighting between Israeli and Palestinian forces. It is the first Palestinian national soccer team of its kind. The players say the organization helps them deal with the physical and mental effects of their war wounds.

Ziad Halib is one of the players and he is 41-year-old. He lost his right leg in 2008 during the first Israel-Hamas war and has been on the team since 2019. He has never missed a training session or game. “We feel we have something, we can give something,” Halib said.

The players hope to compete with teams from other countries. They are seeking to take part in the 2022 Amputee (被截肢者) Football World Cup in October, Turkey. This will require them to attend qualifying competitions in March, Iran. They will be able to make the trip if the border opens to permit them to travel through Egypt.

Simon Baker is a Red Cross advisor and creator of the Irish Amputee Football Association. He recently oversaw the final training session of the season in the Gaza Strip. His job was to choose 20 players from a group of 47 representing different Gaza teams.

Gaza is home to an estimated 1,600 amputees out of a population of more than 2 million. Baker first visited Gaza in 2019, as violent protests were taking place along the territory’s heavily-guarded border with Israel. His goal was to create a whole league for amputees. He spent time training players and officials and was able to organize a league with five teams and more than 100 players. He also started a league for younger amputees, which includes players as young as 5 years old. Baker stays away from discussing politics. His main goal is to create an environment by which the players come to the field and they leave the trauma (创伤) behind.

1. How can Ziad Halib and his teammates attend competitions in Iran?

A．By participating in World Cup in Turkey.

B．By winning qualifying competitions in Iran.

C．By gaining permission to travel through Egypt.

D．By training harder and winning a training game.

2. What was Simon Baker’s task in the Gaza Strip?

A．Picking out footballers.	B．Serving the Red Cross.
C．Inspiring football lovers.	D．Forming a national team.

3. Which of the following words can best describe Baker according to the last paragraph?

A．Enthusiastic and kind.	B．Brave and determined.
C．Courageous and calm.	D．Imaginative and modest.

4. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To introduce a popular Palestinian soccer team.

B．To praise Simon Baker for his great contribution.

C．To encourage amputees to join the football team.

D．To show soccer helps Palestinians heal war wounds.

6 . The Olympics are always a thrilling event, with comeback stories, impressive performances and more. Here is a look at the records broken at Beijing Winter Olympics:

Nathan Chen

Four years after a disappointing showing in PyeongChang, United States figure skater Nathan Chen set a new record during the men’s short program at Beijing Winter Olympics. His 113.97 marks were over two points higher than the personal-best score he set during the figure skating team event.

Nils van der Poel

Sweden’s Nils van der Poel was already the record holder for the men’s 10,000m speed skating, but showed that he can beat even his own record. He finished with a time of 12 minutes and 30.74 seconds, shattering his own previous record of 12:32.95 set in February 2021.

Johan Clarey

France’s Johan Clarey took home the silver medal in the men’s downhill alpine(高山) skiing, and at 41 years and 30 days old, he is the oldest Olympic medalist in alpine skiing. “When you are a medalist, whether you are 20 or 41, it doesn’t matter; it’s just an Olympic medal and this is the best feeling. The record of the oldest is not that I don’t care, but is not the most important point,” Clarey told Eurosport after the race on 7 February 2022.

Ireen Wüst

Qualifying for one Olympics is a big feat, but Speedskater Ireen Wüst of the Netherlands has won an individual gold medal at five different Olympics, the first athlete in history to do so. The 35-year-old attended her first Olympics in 2006. Since then, she has 12 medals, six being gold.

1. At Beijing Winter Olympics, who broke the record he/she had set ?

A．Ireen Wüst.

B．Nathan Chen.

C．Johan Clarey.

D．Nils van der Poel.

2. What do we know about Johan Clarey at Beijing Winter Olympics?

A．He didn’t win a medal.

B．He doesn’t care the record of the oldest.

C．He is the oldest alpine skier to medal at Beijing Winter Olympics.

D．He was the quickest in the men’s downhill alpine skiing.

3. What do the four athletes have in common?

A．They all participated in many Olympics.

B．They all set a new record at Beijing Winter Olympics.

C．They all won gold medal at Beijing Winter Olympics.

D．They all competed in multiple events at Beijing Winter Olympics.

8 . Reading poems is not exactly an everyday activity for most people. In fact, many people never read a poem once they get out of high school.

It is worth reminding ourselves that this has not always been the case in America. In the nineteenth century, a usual American activity was to sit around the fireside in the evening and read poems aloud. It is true that there was no television at that time, nor movie theatres, nor World Wide Web, to provide diversion. However, poems were a source of pleasure, of self-education, of connection to other people or to the world beyond one’s own community. Reading them was a social act as well as an individual one, and perhaps even more social than individual. Writing poems to share with friends and relations was, like reading poems by the fireside, another way in which poetry has a place in everyday life.

How did things change? Why are most Americans no longer comfortable with poetry, and why do most people today think that a poem has nothing to tell them and that they can do well without poems?

There are, I believe, three factors: poets, teachers, and we ourselves. Of these, the least important is the third: the world surrounding the poem has betrayed us more than we have betrayed the poem. Early in the twentieth century, poetry in English headed into directions unfavourable to the reading of poetry. Readers decided that poems were not for the fireside or the easy chair at night, and that they belonged where other difficult-to-read things belonged.

Poets failed the reader, so did teachers. They want their students to know something about the skills of a poem; they want their students to see that poems mean something. Yet what usually occurs when teachers push these concerns on their high school students is that young people decide poems are unpleasant crossword puzzles.

1. Why is reading poems thought to be a social act in the nineteenth century?

A．Because it built a link among people.

B．Because it helped unite a community.

C．Because it was a source of self-education.

D．Because it was a source of pleasure.

2. What does the underlined word “diversion” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Stories.

B．Changes.

C．Amusements.

D．Concentrations.

3. What is the main cause of the great gap between readers and poetry?

A．Students are poorly educated in high school.

B．Poems have become difficult to understand.

C．Students are becoming less interested in poetry.

D．TV and the Internet are more attractive than poetry.

4. What does the author try to tell us by writing the text?

A．The history and changes of poetry.

B．The correct way for teachers to teach poetry.

C．The failure of poetry in people’s life nowadays.

D．The reason why people aren’t keen on poetry today.

9 . The commonly held belief that it takes 21 days to form a new habit can be traced back to a 1960 book by plastic surgeon Maxwel Maltz called Psycho-Cybernetics. In his work treating patients who had gone through facial reconstruction surgery, Maltz noticed that it typically took around three weeks for them to adjust to seeing their new faces in the mirror. He also found that individuals who had lost a limb still sensed “phantom (幻觉的)” pains in the missing arm or leg for about 21 days.

Based on these perceptions (认知) of recovery time after significant physical changes, Maltz theorized in his book that it likely takes a minimum of 21 days for the neurological path ways in our brains associated with old behaviors and habits to go away, and for new mental images and routines to take firm root. This idea of a standardized 21-day formation period for habits soon became widely accepted.

However, Maltz was drawing causal inferences rather than conducting strict scientific research. It wasn’t until 2010 that health psychologist Phillippa Lally at University College London decided to properly study habit formation timelines. She designed a year-long experiment that tracked 96 participants as they each established a single new habit of their choosing. Every day, subjects reported on whether they successfully performed their intended behavior that day as well as how automatic the action felt.

Lally’ findings revealed that on average, it took 66 days before a habit became a normal part of a routine and felt automatic. But results varied widely, with habits forming anywhere from 18 days up to 254 days between individuals. Consistency was the key factor in successfully making a behavior habitual, with sometimes missing days not stopping overall progress.

This landmark study disproved the assumed 21-day standard and showed that a wide range of timelines are normal. Ultimately, committing to consistently practicing a new behavior for months, not weeks, is what allows real habit change and improvement to occur naturally in the brain. Understanding habit formation as a gradual, individualized process helps people develop positive routines without unrealistic expectations.

1. What is Maltz’s assumption based on?

A．An intensive survey.	B．Psychological work.
C．The strict scientific research.	D．His personal observations.

2. Why did Lally’s team conduct the research?

A．To prove Maltz’s theory on habit formation.

B．To identify timelines for establishing new habits.

C．To explore the factors in affecting habit formation.

D．To present advantages of developing good behavior.

3. What do we know about Lally’s findings?

A．There are large individual differences in forming habits.

B．Most participants took 66 days to make a behavior habitual.

C．It is harder to form a new habit than to persist with an old one.

D．Occasional stops have a big effect on the progress of habit formation.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．What Is the Key to Form a New Habit?

B．How Do We Develop Positive Routines?

C．When Is the Best Time to Start a New Habit?

D．Does It Really Take 21 Days to Build a New Habit?